Heinz To Sell Upmarket Version Of Ketchup

By Ben PopkenOctober 26, 2011

Heinz didn’t get the message that it’s unfashionable to cater to the 1% crowd. They’re coming out with a 58th variety of ketchup. A kind for fancypants. It’s more “upscale” because it uses balsamic vinegar instead of white wine vinegar.

At $2.49 a bottle, the ketchup, “Heinz Tomato Ketchup Blended with Balsamic Vinegar,” will sell for a buck more than regular ketchup. That’s a glass bottle, by the way. In addition to the black label, Heinz is only selling them inside these kind of containers in order to demarcate its luxury.

“We think households who already use Heinz ketchup will use this in addition,” Noel Geoffroy, the vice president for United States retail brands at H. J. Heinz, told NYT. She said that the tang of the balsamic “does a nice job of adding a sophisticated spin.”

Photographs of the new ketchup suggest that it pairs well with “Haute Dog,” “Hamburgeur,” and “French Frites.”

Initially the new “limited edition” ketchup will only be sold through the company’s Facebook page until December, when it will stroll into stores and be available there through March. After that they’ll evaluate as to whether sales are strong enough to make this ketchup a permanent fixture on the shelves.